Jett may have a Bad Reputation, but she still knows how to rock

Thursday

Mar 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 27, 2008 at 11:19 AM

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will open Saturday night for Cheap Trick at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center. Jett promises that the show will be a high-energy affair, with lots of hits, some songs from “Sinner,” and the always-a-crowd-favorite “Cherry Bomb,” from her Runaways days.

Kelley Simms

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will open Saturday night for Cheap Trick at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center.

Incidentally, the Rockford-based quartet has opened for Jett’s first band, the Runaways, the first all-girl teenage band in the ’70s.

“We know each other pretty well and have played together several times,” Jett told the Register Star March 17 from her home in New York. “They’re all great guys.”

The concert is billed as a “co-headliner” show, but Jett and the Blackhearts will take the stage first, at 7:30 p.m., and are scheduled to perform for at least an hour.

Runaway success
Jett’s illustrious and lengthy career in music is well-documented. She has influenced a countless number of female bands and appeals to fans of punk, rock, metal and indie rock.

Born Joan Marie Larkin on Sept. 22, 1958, in Philadelphia, she later changed her name to Jett, taking her mother’s maiden name.

Jett was 15 when she, Kari Krome and drummer Sandy West started the Runaways, backed by L.A. record producer Kim Fowley.

The Runaways released four studio albums before disbanding in 1979. Jett immediately tried to launch a solo career with help from songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna.

“What can I say about Kenny?” Jett said. “I’m too close to him; he’s the best in every sense. He’s been the most loyal person to me. He’s been there since the beginning, and he’s been my best friend for 25 years.”

Jett’s self-titled solo debut was rejected by 23 major U.S. record labels, so Jett and Laguna started their own, Blackheart Records, making Jett the first female performer to start her own record label.

The record was released independently in 1980. It was rereleased as “Bad Reputation” in 1981. Jett and Laguna went on to produce all Joan Jett and the Blackheart records, including “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll,” initially released on Boardwalk Records in 1981, Jett’s most successful album to date. The title single spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and the album sold more than 10 million copies.

Blackheart Records turned 28 this year. It has been producing new cutting-edge bands, including punk band The Vacancies from Cleveland, The Dollyrots from L.A. and all-girl trio Girl in a Coma from San Antonio.

Another accomplishment of Jett’s is her acting career. She made her debut in 1987, co-starring with Michael J. Fox and Gena Rowlands in the Paul Schrader film “Light of Day.” She also appeared in the Broadway revival production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” in 2000.

Jett is a huge sports fan. She’s been a Green Bay Packers fan her whole life. She also has been a season ticket-holder to the WNBA’s New York Liberty since the league’s inception in 1997.

What’s next
“Sinner,” Jett’s 11th studio recording, was released in 2006, a decade after her last CD, to rave reviews. She plans to release a greatest-hits CD this summer with some new tracks on it.

“I take care of myself. I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. I’m a vegetarian, and I try to exercise and stay out of the sun for prolonged periods of time.

“I still love playing music for people. If I didn’t enjoy it, I’d probably do some kind of work with animals or nature.”

She promises that Saturday’s show will be a high-energy affair, with lots of hits, some songs from “Sinner,” and the always-a-crowd-favorite “Cherry Bomb,” from her Runaways days.

Register Star graphics artist and Jett fan Kelley Simms can be reached at 815-987-1367 or ksimms@rrstar.com.

Thommy Price — drums
Price has been with Joan Jett for more than 18 years. He also has played drums for Billy Idol, Mink DeVille, Scandal, Peter Wolf, Debbie Harry, Roger Daltrey, Ric Ocasek, Steve Stevens and others.

What Jett says: “One of the best drummers I’ve seen and played with. He’s a ‘drum clinic’ when he plays. Brash, intense, scary good. Very nice guy, talented, too; he also can play the guitar, sing and writes music. He’s an all-around talented guy.”

Doug Needles — guitar
Needles has been quoted as saying he lives to play punk rock and never wants to do anything else. He also fronts a NYC punk band called The Public Offenders.

Enzo — Bass
Enzo also plays bass in The Public Offenders with Needles.

What Jett says: “He holds his cards close to his chest, so to speak. Quiet, soft-spoken, good guy.”

Joan Jett and The Runaways played at Charlotte's Web in the '70s
Charlotte’s Web for the Performing Arts Director Karen Howard remembers The Runaways’ show at the original Charlotte’s Web building on First Avenue in Rockford, which opened in 1972.

“I don’t remember how much we paid them, but they pulled up in a limo and drove around back, next to Midway (Theater), and came in through the kitchen and straight to the dressing room,” Howard said. “I remember they were scantily dressed and their manager kept them away from people.”

The band didn’t know they had to play two 45-minute sets, so they played the same set twice.

“Yeah, we didn’t know that much material with just one album out,” chuckled Jett in a phone interview with the Register Star March 17.

They had just released their self-titled LP in May 1976 on Mercury Records, featuring standout track and live favorite of Jett’s “Cherry Bomb.”